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l%Jn-i 
 
 2^0 
 
 THOUGHTS 
 
 ON 
 
 THE KEBUILDING 
 
 ii^' 
 
 
 OF 
 
 ®l)e €atl)ck*al €l}xxxt\) o( Ql 3famc5, 
 
 BY 
 
 THE LORD BISHOP OF TORONTO. 
 
 Printed for private circulation only. 
 
 1 / 
 
 
 l)l 
 
 TORONTO: 
 
 PRINTED AT THE DIOCESAN PRESS, 
 MD C CO L. 
 
 I 
 
 I. 
 

 TO THE PARISHIONERS 
 
 OF 
 
 St. iamcs'a JJarifil), Toronto. 
 
 My Dear Brethren,— 
 
 It is to be regretted, that, after the unfortunate 
 destruction of the Cathedral of St. James, by fire, last April, 
 measures were not more speedily taken to rebuild a new 
 Church, worthy of this rising city; because the delay and 
 frequent meetings of the Vestry on the subject have pro- 
 duced differences of opinion, and something of irritation. 
 
 Now, a want of unanimity in this matter is very much 
 to be deplored; more especially, as all the parishioners have 
 the same object in view, and are equally anxious to do every 
 thing in their power for its accomplishment. Permiit me, 
 therefore, to submit a few seasonable words, in the hope ot 
 restoring harmony ; for till this be done, we shall not be m 
 a position to make the great and united effort necessary to 
 rebuild a church, which may remain through ages a monu- 
 ment to our piety, and an ornament to the city of loronto. 
 
 1. From the first agea. Christians have had places set 
 apart, with prayers and sacerdotal benedictions, for burying 
 their dead, called Dormitories, or sleeping places; tor they 
 considered death a sleep till the resurrection. There were, 
 however, no dormitories or burying places within the cities 
 or villages during the first three centuries of the Christian 
 era. In this respect, the Roman law was exceedingly strict, 
 and prohibited the burying in cities to every rank and station 
 whatsoever. Now, as Christians obeyed implicitly the law 
 
 ft 
 
 n 
 
 i 
 
 I 
 
under which they lived in all things, innocent and indifferent, 
 they neither did nor could, diirin<^ this period, bury their 
 dead in or around t'leir churches ; because the churches 
 were all within towns and cities. Their burying'-places were, 
 therfore, without the cities, — being either monuments erected 
 above ground, or more frequently caves, vaults, and cata- 
 combs in the fields under ground. In times of persecution, 
 these cemeteries, or vaults, and caves, were also used as places 
 of vVjOrship, in which Christians could meet in greater safety. 
 
 2. The laws against burying in cities and in churches 
 continued in force under tlie Christian as well as the Paijan 
 Emperors for several ages after Constantine the Great. 
 Every city and village had a burial-place without the gates, 
 or near the entrance ; and so it continued till about the sixth 
 and seventh centuries, when some relaxations beofan to be 
 introduced. Hrst, churches were built on the graves of the 
 martyrs ; next, Kings and Emperors and eminent men began 
 occasionally to be buried in the porches of churches ; and at 
 length, and after a 'ong interval, people were allowed to be 
 interred close to the church or under its walls, but not within 
 the church ; then, leave was given to bury Kings, Bishops, 
 and founders of churches, within the church; and in the 
 ninth century the whole matter was left to the discretion of 
 the Bishops. Still, public opinion, as well as the law, were 
 against burying in churches or cities ; and, being considered 
 injurious to health, it made slow progress. But in the 
 thirteenth century, when it came to be believed that it was 
 of great benefit to the soul to be buried in or near the church, 
 the dying became eager to gain this privilege, and at length 
 it was generally conceded. 
 
 3. A return to ancient usage is reviving ; and in most 
 of the large towns in Europe the people are at present pro- 
 hibited from burying within the walls, and compelled to have 
 cemeteries in the fields or adjacent country without the cities. 
 
 4. But, although burying-places were compelled in an- 
 cient times to be without the cities, they were protected from 
 robbery, violence, and indignity, by severe laws and canons. 
 The old Roman law was particularly severe in punishing 
 injuries and abuses offered to the bodies, monuments, and 
 sepulchres of the dead. They were considered sacred things, 
 
■^^p 
 
 I 
 
 \ 
 
 tion. ThisXev^i, 
 )erors, because 6if 
 to the coVetpus, 
 
 and the penalty was death or tra««por^ 
 
 continued under Christian Kings aif^ I'. 
 
 the temptation which the cemetries offt ^ ,^. ,. 
 
 and superstitious : the former were e^&er ^c possess theiDT. 
 
 selves of the splendid ornaments deposite^J v.'itl|^tl»e bodies of' 
 
 the rich; the latter to obtain relics, whidh weri^t^considereU, 
 
 by the weak and ignorant, of infinite value. 1*^, 
 
 5. In regard to the consecration of burial-grourt^much 
 misconception appears to exist, in the minds of grea*i|pum- 
 bers of well-disposed and intelligent persons. We have |^en 
 that many ages elapsed before burial-grounds were estab^ 
 lished around churches, as they are at present; and, conse^ , 
 quently, the custom of consecrating them is not of ancient 
 date Christian churches were indeed devoted to God, and 
 consecrated for holy purposes, from the beginnings because 
 authorised by Scripture, but not churchyards, which have 
 not Scriptural but only Ecclesiastical warrant; nor are there 
 any instances of the consecration of burial-grounds or church- 
 yards till long after they had been made the depositories ot 
 the d-ad,— and then consecration was gradually adopted, and 
 more especially because it began to be believed that they 
 would derive a more perfect security by setting them apart 
 with a holy service, than they had hitherto possessed from 
 the civil and canon law. 
 
 6. Consecration adds the sanction and influence of reli- 
 gion to the penalty of the law, in separating by a visible and 
 holy Service a portion of ground around the church of every 
 parish, for ever, in which to inter the bodies of the congre- 
 eation. This is done by the bishop, so far as in him Hea, and 
 by law he can. He separates the assigned portion ot land 
 by holy prayer and benediction from all common and profane 
 uses whatsoever, and dedicates and consecrates the same for 
 a burial-ground, or place of sepulchre, for the interment of 
 the dead ; and that the same ought so to remain by this lus 
 definite sentence and final decree. 
 
 7 Such is the purport of the sentence of consecration, 
 in regard to churchyards ; and it is subject to three important 
 limitations. First: the civil law of the ^a^d, which may 
 forbid, as the authorities of this city have lately forbidden 
 (on account of the health of the inhabitants) any further 
 
 ^ 
 
6 
 
 interments in tlie churchyard ; and the same prohibition has 
 been recently adopted in London, and will soon be in all the 
 principal cities and towns of the Mother Country. 
 
 8. Second : so far as in us lies. This limitation accords 
 with the law, so far as that no burials can take place when 
 the civil law prohibits them. But it comes into action, 
 whether the civil law operates or not, so soon as the bishop 
 is convinced that farther interments may injure the living, 
 by creatinjr or promotint^ disease. The third limitation re- 
 gards the rights of the church, which is the principal object 
 in all churcnyards ; and to her requirements and necessities 
 every thing else must give way. Tlie churchyard is merely 
 an appendage to the church; and its consecration is nOt 
 equal in authority to the consecration of the church : hence, 
 when the interests of the church itself are concerned, the 
 churchyard may be dispensed with, or removed to another 
 location. In fact, it is so dispensed with, when it can no 
 longer be used as a place of interment. 
 
 9. Although consecration of burial-grounds be in strict 
 accordance with all the better and holier feelings of our 
 nature,— and is taught us by the example of God's servants 
 in all ages, who assigned peculiar places where the bodies of 
 the saints may rest in peace, and be preserved fiom all 
 indignities, while their souls are safely kept in die hands of 
 their Creator, — we must take heed not to carry our good 
 feelings, or the effects of such consecration, to a superstitious 
 or pernicious extent, or detm it equal to the consecration of 
 a church. It is therefore no indignity, much less a desecra- 
 tion, to remove dead bodies with decent care and reverence 
 from'i locality found inconvenient to one more becoming. 
 No one thought it a desecration ov indignity to remove 
 Gen. Brock's body from one of the bastions of Fort George, 
 to place it below the monument on the Queenston Heights, 
 erected to his honour. Nor have I and others been guilty of 
 an act of desecration in removing the bodies of our dead 
 from St. James's churchyard, to the new cemetery. It 
 ecame our duty to do so, the moment it ceased legally to 
 b^j a burial-ground. 
 
 * 10. In England there are at least ten thousand parishes. 
 Each parish has its church, and many of them have had 
 
 K: 
 
r^m 
 
 churches more than a thousanu years. During that longf 
 period these churches have, no doubt, been several times re- 
 newed and enlarcred, &s they fell into decay, and the popuht* 
 tion increased ; but did any one ever dream that because the 
 parish church was to be renewed or enlarged, or its site 
 changed to another more eligible part of the church-yard, 
 where it might cover many graves, and require the removal 
 of many bodies, that this was desecrating such bodies? Cer- 
 tainly not: the church is the first thing to be considered. — 
 K Besides, most men d^^sire the church to cover their graves, 
 and when this cannot be done, to remove them with pious 
 reverence to another part of the burial-ground is perfectly 
 consistent with the most solemn consecration. Were it other- 
 wise, no new church could ever be built or enlarged; for 
 parishes have, in general, no other site than the churchy ' 
 To the re- building or enlarging of a parish church, there* . 
 as the most important and necessary parochial object, £ 
 other thing connected with the churchyard must yield, 
 this the site or church plot was originally given. The bu.^ 
 ing of the dead is a secondary object, and must not he allowed 
 to hinder or stand in the way of providing, in a becoming 
 manner, for public worship— nor, I believe, has it ever been 
 made a question in any parish. It would, indeed, be an in- 
 dignity to the dead, as well as the living, to permit graves to 
 obstruct the building or enlargement of churches. Such a 
 thought can never be entertained, even for a moment, by a 
 sincere and well-informed Christian. Hence : 
 
 11. When the law prohibits the inhabitants of a parish 
 from burying any longer in tloir churchyard, it is found 
 that the parishioners hasten to remove the bodies of their 
 friends to a fitter place ; and if there be any that are unable 
 to do so, they should be assisted by the parochial authorities, 
 for it is found by experience that when a churchyard ceases 
 to be a place of interment, it is less carefully attended to, — 
 the graves are trampled upon, and becoire flat, — the head- 
 stones are defnced, and the tombs fall into ruin. Now, it will 
 not be contended that those who have with reverent care re- 
 moved their beloved ones from a churchyard where burying 
 is no longer allow«d, to another cemetery more safe and con- 
 venient, have less affection for their dead than some of their 
 neighbours, who leave their dead exposed, as they may be, to 
 
 < 
 
f \ 
 
 8 
 
 the chance of indignity. On the contrary, their aflfection is 
 shewn in a more rational and becoming manner : all their 
 dead are again brought together, and deposited in ground 
 which promises, from its locality, never again to be disturbed. 
 
 12 These general principles and limitations apply to 
 the pre'sent state of the parish of St. Jame.. At the more 
 early meetings of the Vestry, after tl.e destruction of the ca- 
 thedral by fire, it was found that twelve o. fifteen tnousand 
 pounds would be required to build a new church worthy ot 
 the rity, and that about five thousand only were in hand.— 
 Now, it is quite true that the difference, viz., nine or ten 
 thousand pounds, could be raised by the congregation ; but it 
 19 equally true that, in the present times, it could not be 
 raised without much difficulty, for the parishioners have had 
 already to build two churches, both of which have been des- 
 troyed, at an expense of not less, I believe, than twenty 
 thousand pounds. This naturally induced the \estry to look 
 around for help. Tiiey saw that by leasing some lots the 
 required sum might be raised, and altnough every member 
 of the vestr- wished to retain the land, they came to the con- 
 clusion, thoigh with great reluctance, that there was no other 
 alternative ; and as it was doubtful whether a proper title could 
 be given, they were at the trouble of procuring an Act to 
 settle that point. 
 
 13. Since then, a plan for rebuilding the chuich, on 
 another part of the burial-ground, has been adopted by a 
 great majority, the cost of which io estimated at nearly fifteen 
 Thousand pounds : but in the meantime a cry «f dese /ation 
 has been got up, as if it were sacrilege to disturb a single 
 grave for any purpose whatever, however necessary and holy, 
 Ind the parish 18 threatened with a continuance of the great 
 evil it now suffers, in being without any place ofP"Wic wor- 
 ship. Now if this cry were well founded, it would be entitled 
 to grave consideration, and, associated as it may be in some 
 sincere hearts, with tender feelings and affections it deserves 
 kind treatment and full evidence that it is founded m error 
 and misconception. What the Vestry proposes to do has been 
 done through all Christendom in every age, and is at tms 
 moment in daily practice. First, respecting the site of the 
 cortemplated church, which may, it is believed, be placed to 
 
[Wj9 
 
 9 
 
 more advantat^e in the middle of the square, it is only re- 
 quired to do what, sooner or later, must be done in every 
 parisli where a church is tj be built or enlarged, viz., remove 
 a few bodies witii decent reverence to the cemetery, or to 
 anotl.er part of the present church- -^rd. Second, in regard 
 to the land to be leased ; if it be devoted, or, what is the same 
 thinir, its proceeds be devoted to rebuilding the church, 
 which is a bettf"* and holier purpose than thaC of becoming 
 a depository for >\ie dead, it is altogether a mistake that the 
 ground is thereby desecrated and an act oi sacrilege com- 
 mitted. Look at ihe city of London : all the churches had 
 at first burial-grounds around them ; but the city grew, and 
 necessity compelled relaxations, from time to time, or enact- 
 ments for the b nefit of the living, till, in many instances, 
 nothing is left but the bare church, witness, for instance, St. 
 Clement Da»»es in the Strand, and St. Martin's i ' the 
 Fields. Yet no charge of desecration has ever been made, 
 because during the piocess every thing was done with reve- 
 rence and decency, and to constitute sacrilege there must be 
 neglect, irreverence or intentional indignity. The cathedral 
 of St. Paul covers the whole of the ancient burying-ground 
 and nobody complains, for, though it be a natural feeling to 
 respect the dead, the rights of the living must neither be 
 neglected nor sacrificed. 
 
 14. The subject, therefore, of re-building the church, 
 as contemplated by the vestry of St. James's Church, in what- 
 ever light it be correctly viewed, involves no case of desecra- 
 tion or of sacrilege. If built upon the middle of the square 
 the bodies can be piously removed, as daily happens iu other 
 places. All desire the ground to be preserved, if there be a 
 possibility of building the church otherwise. But if ic be 
 found impossible, from inability or disinclination, the ground' 
 may be leased without any apprehension of desecration, for, 
 to speak of desecration when the land is thus devoted to the 
 glory ot God, is totally to misunderstand the meaning of 
 the word. 
 
 15. Once more: some persons think that there is no 
 occasion to be at any great expence in erecting a church, — 
 For they argue, that God may be as sincerely worshipped in 
 a building of clay or of timber, as in the most gorgeous 
 
 a 
 
10 
 
 cathedral. Now this may not only be true, but proper, when 
 the people are poor and unable to build any thin^ better, 
 but it involves a great error when sought to be applied to a 
 community like this. The uniform practice of Christians 
 through the whole period of Ecclesiastical history, has not 
 only been to build according to their ability, but not unfre- 
 quently according to their faith. And that this is their duty 
 is manifest from Scriptural example and the annals of the 
 Church. Solomon's Temple was built exceedingly rich and 
 magnif cent, at the immediate command of God, and Chris- 
 tians iidving this all-prevailing authority before them, have 
 frequently in their churches and cathedrals surpassed the 
 Temple itself as far in size, beauty, and costliness, as their 
 (endowments of divine gifts and privileges in spirit and in truth, 
 go beyond those of the Jewish people. Often have they built 
 God's holy sanctuary like high places, not merely from their 
 own resources, but from faith in their children. Hence many 
 of the most renowned churches were more than one hundred 
 years in building, and exhauswd the means of several genera- 
 tions. The first promoters had little regard to cost, they gave 
 freely what God had given them, ar 1 expected their successors 
 to do the same, till the building was completed. If this be 
 seldom done in the present age, it is because our faith has 
 waxed feeble. 
 
 16. In regard to the restoration of the Church of St. 
 James, it will not do to make it of less dimensions, because in 
 that case it would not accommodate and reunite the congre- 
 gation, — nor ought it to be so plain and destitute of architec- 
 tural beauty as the one we have lost. If our means are at 
 present insufficient for its completion, why not build a portion 
 of the magnificent plan that has been adopted, and in a few 
 years do something more, and trust in faith as our Fathers 
 did, that our children will finish, what we have begun ? 
 
 17. The writer of these remarks is enti: 'cd to a hearing, 
 and therefore to recommend them to the serious perusal of 
 every one of the parishioners of the parish of St. James. He 
 was against devoting the ground along King-street, to rebuild 
 the church or cathedral, and offered to be one of thirty or 
 forty to erect it, but was not supported. He was then com- 
 pelled to yield to the conviction, that in the present circum- 
 
11 
 
 stances and state of mind of the pr.rishioners, the rebuilding 
 of the church cannot be accomplished without the assistance 
 to be derived from ^ the proceeds of the ground. Had he 
 supposed that to put it to this sacred use was a desecration he 
 would not have consented; but it is no desecration of this or of 
 any ground to be devoted to the building up of the House of 
 God. Contrast the magnificent buildings which now replace 
 those along King-street destroyed by the fire, with the ruins 
 of the cathedral, and ask with the Prophet, "Is it time for 
 "you to dwell in your ceiled houses, and this house lie 
 waste ? " Were every member of the congregation to reflect 
 seriously on this, the means of rebuilding would not be 
 long wanting. 
 
 18. In fine: let the Vestry consider the whole matter 
 calmly and (l.spassionately, and if the Church can be built 
 and the ground preserved— let it be so. But if this cannot be 
 done, devoce the rents of the ground to the sacred purpose of 
 rebuilding the House of God, that we may again worship 
 therein ; for, in doing so, there is no desecration. 
 
 I remain, my dear Brethren, 
 
 Your affectionate Diocesan, 
 
 John Toronto. 
 
 ,- *,